Mooring mast



July 18, 1933. H. T. DYER Er AL 1,918,523

MOORING MAST Filed June 24, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet l 5 I gmenfoz florace ZDyer HemanRL/bert am/FW/nmreD Swan July 1 1933. H, T, DYER ETAL 1,918,523

MOORING MAST Filed June 24, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 liar/nan RL l berfi am/ FW/morefl Swan.

July 18, 1933. H. T. DYER ET AL MOOR I NG MAST Filed June 24, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 18, 1933. H. T. DYER ET AL 1,918,523

MOORING MAST Filed June 24, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 18, 1933 STATES.

' swnn or nxnoimyonro; ssrenons 'ro-eoon namznrnnunjoonromyrion, on y I r AKRON, OHIO, A. conrom'rron or DELAWARE i W Application filed June 24,

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for manipulating fairshi'ps and analogous Iighter-than-air craft and it has. for its principal object to facilitate the handling of airships, at" the same time great y.

. reducing the personnel heretofore required 1 moving both devices and the airship concurmethodconsists, of a particular I Jbile'or traveling mooring mast whereby the masts, this end in view,

in such operation. g 7 Generally statedg'the method consists of anchoring both'extremities ofan airship to mobile fore and" aft mooring: devices and rently, so 'tliat i-n docking an airship, for eX- ample, be aligned with a-dock, and both the mooring devices and ship moved into the dock.

Theapparatus used in carrying out the type of moship maybe readilymoved from one point to 1 another while being held in'bou-nds and 'yet is permitted a limited fore and aft movement relatively to the masts and has free angular play about a horizontal axis at its pointof attachment to the masts. The improved V V as above noted, are mobile, and with may bemounted to travel on track-ways or may be of thetractor type and provided with suitable treads such as those used on the well known caterpillar type of tractor.

To gain a more complete understanding of Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are, respectively, viewsin side and front elevation andiplan of another 1 form of mast for carrying out the method; Fig. 7 is a view in perspective,showing a method of berthing an airship in accord: ance with the invention'and Fig. 8 is a view, in side elevation, of a mod-- ified form of the cup and cone mounting illustrated in Figs. 1,2 and .3.

The reference numeral 5 deslgnates the top supporting frame of the mast embodyingthe travel on" a track 'or other:

the mooring devices and ships may well understood in the art. a

arms 5 03;

provided whereby the'platformbOl may be" ing rollers 11 adapted tobear against furrestrain any fore L and aft movement ofthe carriage. i 1 It will thus be seen that the carriage with gears 16. and 16 secu-red'on theshaft s" MOORING MAST 1931.. Serial mifseasao. vii

invention, and 6 the end ofan airship,iw hich,

as will be understood, is suitably designed and strengthened ;to withstand the loads or stresses, imposed thereon The frame 5 is shown in Fig. 7 as being mounted ona suitable caror the Elia generally indicated at. so that it may be moved from point topoint as desired, it being understood, of course,

that the said frame couldbefadapted for means whereby the mastlis rendered mobile. The end 6; of the ship is provided witha cone cup' 7 which is journalled as at .7a, .vvhichconefitting serves as a meansof attachment in a: manner A platform 501-isrotatfab1y mounted/on the top of the frame 5, preferably through the agency "of a-"ball race 502andretaining Suitable means are preferably rotated'jjwith respect to the frame -5,-- Which may take the form'ofa rack 504:S8Q11I8d1li0 the platform 501, which rack is engaged byia pinion 505 secured to an operatingwheel 506 by a skift'oo'i.

A carriage '8 is mounted for. limited athwartship movement said carriage being provided with wheels or rollers 9, adapted for travel V in, guide tracks and restrain the carriage from any a r e' ciable vertical movementfl At an intermediate pointthe carriage isprovided withLbearther guide member 12 and be moved only in anathwartshipidire ction.

handwbeel 1 3,which is secured 'onavertical shaft lt having secured' on theJOvve rend thereof a bevel gear 15, whichjisinniesh l7 and 17 the shaft"ITeXtending' thr ugh a suitable slotin-the guide" member 12.. f

Extending atsubstantially right angles to l the shafts 17', 17 ,arethreadedshafts18and 8, tnote onthehplatform' 501, i

10, which are fixedto and extendin an athwartship direction on the platform 50 1 5 Smay" e, i 'l'hiis niovei'nentis controlledjby'meansof a ings 19. The threadeclportions of these shafts engage threaded lugs 01' nuts 20 secured on the carriage 8,and said shaft-s havesecured on one end thereof bevel gears 21' and 21 which mesh with'gears 22 and 22 secured on a a handwheel 38,'which is secured on-a shaft 39,..the latter being provided with a Worm the shaftsl'l and 117. v 1

I When it. is desired to move the carriage 8 in .an' athwartship directionpthe handwheel .13 is rotated5jand through the drive connections above described, rotation isimparted to the thread shafts 18 and 18, which engage in the thread lugs or nuts secured to the carriage.

In addition tothe carriage 8,}and movable at substantially right angles W respect thereto, or in a foreand' aft direction,a carriage', '*generally indicatedat 23,"isprovided.

' respectto the athwartship traveling carriage isprovidedwith a said rack.

This carriage ismounted-on rollers 24 adapted to travel in guide tracks 25, wh ch restra n any appreciable vertical movement of the carnage, and to restrain the carriageagainst side movement, the latter is provided with additional bearing rollers 26 adapt-edto bear against the tracks (note'FigQ3). .Stops V 27 are provided at theends ofthe track rails 25 to prevent over-running of the carriage 23.

It will, be observed that the-carriage 23 is movable only in a fore aft direction with 8. This movement is controlled by means of a handwIheel-28, which is mounted on a verti- 'cal shaft- 29, the latter being provided with aworm which meshes with a wormwheel On the; platform or under the frame of the carriage 23 is a rack 33, and the shaft 32 extends acros s'and gear 32 which meshes with 31 secured on a shaft 32.

Byirotatingthe handwheel 28, the carriage ;23'may bemoved in a fore and-aft direction as desired, V v

To, permit the carriage V 23 to have free movement with the end of the ship, as is sometimes desirable,-the handwheel shaft 29'is set in an eccentric bushing 34.]By rotating this bushing through the agency of an op Veratinghandle 3? provided for this'purpose,

the, worm 30 may be released from driving I I V the how oi the ship into direct engagement engagement with the worm Wheel 31 and the carriage will th'en have a free floating movement or may be pushed orpulled hand.

The invention contemplates providing lim-V it switches (not shown) at the ends of free its travel;

' further carriage; sa which in the a...

I illustrated in Figs.=1, 2 and 3 travels at an incline with respectto the carriagesS and23,

I is provided, {and-it isto this carriage that the end of the airship is moored; Mounted at an incline-on the carriage'23 are guide tracks somewhere near the middle of or rails 36 which may be shapedsubstantially similar to the guide rails 10 and 25, the carriage being provided with rollers 37 adapted for travel in said tracks 86. I v The'carriage 35 is controlled-.bymeans of L0 in mesh with a wormwhecl 41,.Wl1i0l1 secured on the one end of a threadedshaft l2,

said shaft" being threaded through "a lug or nut 43 secured to the carriage 3 zontal' a:-:is,- said head being provided with trunnions whichare inountedin bearings 45 attached to the carriage frame-: On its outer V extremity tiie shead l l carries a cone connec .tion 46 adapted to-engagejln the hollow cone cup 7 on the end of the ship 6, and at its inner extremity the said head terminates in counterwe'ights 47, for counterbalancingthe cone 46. it will be a arent that the sl11 ma PP P y carry the cone fi whilethe mast carries the cup 7-,if desired.

In the modified form of cup and cone 0011-. nection illustrated '11'1 F1g. 8,-tl1e cup '(01' and cone 461 are adaptedto beengaged in aver tical direction-In thisconstruction the necessity of providing rotatable platform 501 on the frame v5 1S (illll'lilittted inasmuch as a rotatable connection may read ly. be pro-T vided-between the cup 701 and cone ltil. The

cup 701 is mounted by vertically adjustabld means to the carriage 2 3 -wh1chis formed;

In this. construction't-he carriage 34- is flat. dispensed with. I

g The improved mast maybe used either as a-bow or tail mast, and may be operated in a manner substantially as follows:

vVhenthe mast is used as a bow mast} it is, placed in thelan'ding field adjacent airship dock in a position such as that indicated 1? at A in Fig. 7 ,'-so that'the ship may land into the wind which will allow'the ship to,

be more easily handled andcontrolled. The ship is moved slowly up to a position where the bow or nose thereof is adjacent or slightly above the mast. It is possible to bring with the mast in several ways which may. in. clude dropping a'cable'from the nose of the ship, whichcable iswound up a suitable "winch (not shown) on the ,mast and the method requiring a very small ground crew. .Anothermethod of bringing the bow of the ship into engagingrelation with the mast is 7 by the aid of ground crewscontrolling the V shipby hand lines. The exact position of the cone 46 carried by the'mast-canl be conallow the airship to rotateabout a horizontal up on a suitable winch (not shown) on the tail mast. Or again, ground; crews with hand lines from the ship may be used for-this When the mast is used asa tail mastpor when a second mast is'emp loye'dlinconjunc-j tion with thefirst', one beingat thebow and.

the otherat the tail of the. ship the pro:

'cedure is the same as that described gaboye except that in addition the an i theship will be secured to the tailniastl This is ac complished by moying the tail mastto a position such as indicated at B in Eig. 7-,ad:

jacent the-tail of the ship; thefship being held by thebow mast "ina fairly steady po sition inasmuch as it is headingintothe wind. The position of the coneof thetail 'inast is nowfadjusted until the connection 15.

to thetail of the: ship is completed.- T0 facilitate makingthe -eonnection,; a cable-may be dropped from the tailwhich can-be wound purpose. 7.

' After the airshipfhas been anchored be: tween the two masts in the manner above described, the mast securing the tail of the andthe airship are niovedtogether intothe' ship isswung on an are about the mast securing the bow of the ship to'align theiair ship with the dock,lwhereupon the masts dock; E e 1 The rotatablemounting of-the platform 501 on the frame 5 a-llows'therotative niove ment of the masts and the'ships as described: Afterthe ship is secured between the two masts, it may be desirable to operate the handles 34. to allow the carriage23 lfree movement on the carriage 8 so that anysmall: variations in the distancejbetween .the 'niasts,

will not result in strain upon the airship.

If the same length airship is being handled continuously,..the preferrecl manne'r of. in-

stallation comprises the, provision of a straighttrack C extending on ailine out of; the dock and acircular ,trackD,iallpoin'ts of which are equidistant from the station A,

. at which station theb'ow mast is placed prior to landing of the ship. In tliis construction the masts may be readily mountedongsuit able cars 4 supported onthe traCksQWhereby sirable' to replace one'or both of-the cars4 'th'e operations above described are facilitated. e i V I Where airships of various lengths are being handled it will probably be fOundjdc with a caterpillar tractorg The operation with the masts mounted on tliecaterpillar' tractors is the same asthat' described above with respect to themasts when .Inounted on cars running on tracks.

The hereinbefore described of limb? construction enables an airship to vbe manipu lated with greater facility than has hereto-f fore been possible and at the same timeinaterially reduces the personnel required on the i-l field. Theconstructionisalso greatly simplified. andlirnproyed with respect to prior Q knowntypesfi V o 5 Figs. 4; 5 and 6, illustrate another form of mast construction for accomplishing the res sults obtainedQby the mast shown and describedin connection with Figs; 1 2 andB. 7 Q Referring to these figures, theframe 5 of a'base49 l, which in turn is-secured to a suit,; able tractor, "car or other transport ngrde means for securi'ngthe frame 5 to the base, {91

the mast ispreferably rotatably mounted on "75" a. Y1ce,.as. 1n-the previous,const-ruct-ion- The v y may takethe form of a ball race t92-and retainii'ig. arms 493'p'rovided with rollers 494.

inorder, to positively control-[the position ofthe frame 5 on the base 491,;a rack 495 497' provided with ahandwh'e'el3498, which shaft isournaled in the base1491 as at 499. y L

To-the frame 5a vertical framework, generallyindicated at50, having gulde ra ls 5Q? at thecorners thereof, is secured. In these guiderails a vertically traveling carriage 51 providedwithrollers' 52 has movement. The carriage is moVed-yerticallyby any suitabie means whichunaycomprise threaded; shafts which are journaledat their Opposite endsin bearings 54 fiXed to cross frames forming part of the framework 50. These maybe secured' to'the frame 5,wh i ch coope, 'erates-with'a pinion 4:96secured to ashaft shafts are;threaded tlirough nuts-or lugs55 I secured to the cal riagel', softhat by rotat-l ingsaidj shaftsthecarriage is moved up. or;v

"down,}as desired. .Io tliisend a hand' wheel f 56 is'provided.Which is geared to thefishafts gears 58.

53 through the medium sof s-a shaft 57 and "To facilitatedts.bperation,"the carriage may befcounterbalanced in any. well-known manner ifdesiredi i The top'of'tl ecarriage 51 has .inounted 5 for jhorizontal-'trayel;thereon viii-an athwart-z j ship directionanothercarriage.59;the upper y 1 structnre of-tlie carriage being provided with horizontalguide'rails 6Q which extend. in an athwa'rtship direction, and bearing against theserailsa-re setsofbearing rollers 4 i "lei 61 disposed at substantially right angles and supporting the 'carriage 59.

rlage .68 provided with Thisc-arriage 69iseontrolled by nieans of aahan dwheel 70"securcd on a shaft 71pm; vided with aworm 72; which neshes with a" worm wheel-73 secured on a cross shaft' 74 ing' the mooring devifce'in-alignment with:

' -What \veclaim is J having a geared connectionwith a rack fixed to the carriage 68.

may be engaged'or disengaged at will, as in the case of the worm 30 hereinbefore de-' scribed. I p H 1 -The carriage 59-has mounted onthe for- V V Ward end thereofa hollow ,cone 76 adapteddetails of construction, will*produeethe same advantageous resultsas the mast illustrated in Figs; 1,2 and 3 To align the mast verti cally with the tail of the shi p, the handwheel 56 is, turned, 'Whilelateral orathwartship alignment is Obtained by turning the handwheel 62,thecones' 76 and'ZZ vthen being engaged by turning the handwheel70, whereupon' the worm wheel'T-i and theend of the ship are free for a" range ofqbackward and- 7 forward movement limited only by the length of the carriage 68.

1 "1. A method ofmanipulating "a'irships which comprises anchoring the bow :of an airship to. a mobile moorlng devlce, anchormg the stern of the-airship to a. second lndependently mobile mooring device andmoving both mooring dev ces andlthe airship con-,

currently.

'2. A method of berthing an airship ina dock which comprisesanchoring the bow of the airship to a mobile mooring device, locatthe dock, anehoring'tlie stern of the airship to a second independently mobilefmooring 'ClQVlCG, allgning both mooring devices-and the airship with the doclgland moving the mooring devices and the airship" into the 3.1Mooring apparatus forbair craft-coni-p prising a supporting base, cooperating ca rrlage members mounted for relative controllable movement in an athwar'tship' and ,fore' and aft direction with respect to the ship to be moored, means for attaching the ship to the apparatus, a supporting carriage for said'last; named means, and means for ad- 7 tive controllable movement in an'athwartship justing said latter carriage independently of said first named carriage members," I I '4. Mooring apparatus for 'aircraft com-- prising a supporting base, a pair of coop erating carriage members mounted for relaand, fore and aft direction with respect 7 to the ship to be moored, another carriage member supported by one of said first named carriages and adapted to be positioned vertically' with respectto theship, meansforattaching the ship'to said last. named carriage,

The-worm 72 is mounted n an eccentric bushing. so that at free movement in a plane and-means forrotatably supporting all of the V carriages on the base.

-e 5; Mooring apparatus for aircraft com-. prising asupporting base, cooperatingcar riage members" mountedon said base, means: for imparting relativem0vement to said car-'- riage membersinfan ath-wartsl'iip'and fore and aftdirection with respect to the ship to be moored, a further carriage member mounted on one of said first-named carriages, means for positioning said last-named carriage verti'callywith respect to the ship, means for attaching the ship tosaid latterfcarriage,and

means for releasing oneof said carriages to allow it to have free'relative movement lo'n gitudina'lly of the axis of the ship; v i x, 6. A mobile mooring fma stffor aircraft comprising a movable support, a'pair of 'co operating carriage members mounted onsaid 7 support, means for 'shifting 'said carriage members to relative positions in an sithwart.

ship and fore and aft direction withlrespect to the ship to be moored, another carria'ge I member supported by one of saidfirst named,

carriage members,means for raisingand lowering said lattercarriage, and means forattaching the ship thereto; I

- {Ti-A mobile mooring mast a tive vertical, horizontal and lateral planes "with respect to the ship to be moored," and ';means for'releasingthe drive of one of: said carriage members topermit thelatter to have .gitudina'l axis of the ship.

for aircraft comprising a movable supporting base,cjooperatingcarri-age membersmounted 'on said,

base, meansfor driving said carriages in rel- I parallel to the loni 8. A mob'le mooring :mast for aircraft comprising "a main mobile supporting base, frame structures supported on saldwmObllfi base, means formdependently shifting said structures vin planes athvvartship, fore and aft, and up and down, with respect to the ship to be moored, means to release one ofsaid structures toallow 1t to have l mited free travel in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ship, and-means for attaching the ship to the topmost" of saidframe structures 1 so thatthe ship may haverotationa]. move ment about a horizontal axis.

.9. A mobile mast for; mooring aircraft comprising a mainmobile supporting base, guide ra1lsmountedonsaid base,ija carriage mounted for travel said guide, rails, guide rails on saidcarriage, a second carriage -mounted for travel ii -said latter guide rails, another carriage mounted in guide rails on said second named carriage, means for'fat' tachi'ng the ship to be moored to said'lat-ter carriage, means for independently"adjusting said:carriages in planesnormal to' and par- I allel with the longitudinal axis of the said ship, and means for rotatab'lysupporting all of thecarriages on the basei 10. mobile mooring mast for aircraft and aft, and up and down with respect to comprising a main supporting base; a carriage mounted on said base, a'second carriage mounted on said first-named carnage, a third carriage mounted on said second-named carriage, means for independently adjusting said carriages 1n direct ons;athwartship, fore the ship to be moored, means for attach'ing the ship to the topmost ofsa1d -carr1ages means to release one of said carriages to, allow it to have a limited free travel in a direction longitudinally of the ship,and means rotatnally f the ship. 5

ably supporting the mast; V p

11. A mobile mast for aircraft comprising a main mobile supporting base, l'ower,intermediate and upper independently movable membersfmounted on said'base, means for attaching the ship to be moored to said upper' member, means for independently adjusting said members in horizontal, Vertical and lateral planes, and meansto releasenthe adjust-j ing-means on said intermediate member'to allow it to have free movementlo'ngitudl 12. A mooring most for aircraft compris ing a mainsupporting base, a carriage mounted on said base, means for driving said carriage in an athwarts'hip direction, a second cariage mounted on said, first-named carriage,

e means for driving said carriage in a fore and aft direction,a third carriage mounted on said second-named carriage, means for driv-' ing said carriage in an'up anddown direction, means for attaching one extremity of the ship to said last-named carriage, means another mobile mooring mast adapted to be attached to the tail of the ship, one of said masts being provided with independently movable frame structures, means for adjust ing said structures in planes extending athwartship, fore and aft, and up and down with respect to the ship, and means for re-j leasing one of said frame structures to permit the ship to have free fore and aft movement with respect to the mast. v a

14. A mobile mastfor aircraft comprising a main supporting base, lower, intermediate and upper independently movable frame structures mounted on "said base, means for attaching the ship to be moored to said upper frame structure, and means for-independently' adjusting said frame structures in horizontal, vertical and lateral planes, one of said frame structures being releasable to permit the ship to have limited free movement longi- I tudinally of the ship.

15. A mast foraircraft comprising a main.

supporting base, lower, intermediate and upper independently movable name structures mounted on saidbase, means'afor attaching the ship' to be mooredlto said upper frame structure, means for. independentlyadjnsting said frame structures in horizontaL-ver tical and lateral planes, swivel meanslin the-at- :taching-ineans to allow theshi-p to have free rocking movement vabout itshorizontal axis and means in the connection-between the ship and the mast to allow movementoflthe ship about the-mast as avertical axis. I

16. The combination with an of, 'of .a mobile mooring mast provided with ahorizontally and vertically pivoted anchor v airship "hav ing a mooring attachmentin one end there'- member-adapted to'engagesaid attachment, 7

a carriage,forfsupporting said anchormem-w ber on vthe upper extremity of the mast, a pair of cooperating,relatively adjustable carriages for supporting said first-named 'carr1age,:and means for independently ad usts mg each of said'carrlages to positlonthe an chor member withrespect to said e't ttachment' when attaching the ship-to the mast;

17. The'combinationwithan airshiphaving amooring. attachment of a mobile mooring I-nast'provided.with axhoriiontally piv-- V oted anchor member adapted to engage "said attachment, la carriage for supporting said anchor-,member on the uppersextremity of Y the mast, "a pair of cooperating, relativelyadjustable carriages for supporting said first named carriage, and means for independently ad usting each of said carriages mp0.- sitlon theanchor member wlth respect to said attachment when attaching the ship-to the I Q mast, one of said carriages being releasable after the ship isattached to'permittheship to have unrestricted play relatively to the mast in a plane substantially"-longitudinally a.

of the ship.

i 18. A method of berthing anairship which "comprises aligning a mobile mooring mast with an airship dock, landing the airship into the wind to bringthe bow thereof ad jacent the mast, securing the bow of the ship to the mast, bringing another independently 7 mobile mast adjacent the tail of the ship as it floats out behind the bow mast held substan- 1 tially in position bythe wind, securing the tail of the ship to the last-named'mast, swinging thelast-named independent mast, on an arc. about the first-named mast to. align the ship with the dock,'and moving'the masts together with the ship intocthedock.

19. In combination an airship and-a pair of anchoring masts, means for making-each of the masts independently movable, one of said masts being rigidly secured adjacent each 1? end of the airship, and means ,on one of the I masts whereby the mast and the airshipcan have relativelongitudinal movement; 7

I 2O; In comblnation an airship, abow mast,

means for anchoring the bow of the'airship'to 1 adjusting the anchoringmeans thereof in a plurality of directions whereby the anchorthe bow mast, rolling means moiinting the bow mast whereby it can be moved as desired,

a stern mast, means for anchoring the stern of .the airship to the stern. mast, said stern} mastbeing entirely independent of the bow ma'st,-rollingmeans on the stern mast whereby it'canbe independently moved as desired, and

means in the connections between the masts and the airship. whereby the airshlp can have rolling movement about a horizontal axis.v

' 21. 'In'combination an airship, a bow mast, means for anchoring the airship to thebow mast, rolling means mountingthe bow mast whereby it can be, moved asdesired,a stern. mast, means foranchoring the airship to the stern mast, saidst-ei'n mast being entirely independent of the bow mast and movable around ythe bowmast, and rolling means on the stern mast whereby it can be independently moved as desired. 1 p I 4-22.,In combination an airship, abow mast,

meansfor anchoringthe airship tothe bow mast, rollingmeans mounting the bow mast,

"whereby it canlbe movedv as desired, a stern mast, means for anchoring the airship to the stern mast, said stern mast being entirely independent of 1 the bow mast, and movable around the bow mast, rolling means on the stern mast whereby it can be independently moved as desired,land means in the masts for ingot the airship is facilitated. I

- 23. In-combination an airship, a bowmast,

means for anchoring the airship to the'bow ship is facilitated.

24:1 'In combination in land airship handling mechanism a h011SlIIgdOCk,al1 airshlp, a"

bow mastto ,whiclrthe'bow of the airship can besubstantially rigidlyianchored, means for; rendering the bow mast movable into and out l ofthe dock, jmeans for anchoring the stern of the airship,'means on the sternanchoring means for renderingth'e same independently;

movable as desired whereby the-iairshipcan be moved into and out of the dock: and anchored and released with vfacility. j

25; A method of :berthing an airship which comprises aligning a' mobile mooring-mast with an airship dock, nosing thebow of the airship up to the mast while landing theship into the wind, fixing the .bow: of the ship-to the mast, securing means to the rear portion 7 of the ship as it floats out behind the bow mast while heldv substantially in position by the wind, swinging it on an'arc about themast p by saidlast mentioned means to align the ship with the dock,,and moving the mast, rear 7 l securing means and ship togetheranto the dock. j V HERMAN R. 'LIEBERTw FILLMORE D. SWAN. HORACE T. DYER. 

